Paramus man faces impersonation, theft-related charges in eBay scheme

A 34-year-old Paramus man is accused of using a false identity to facilitate the sale of counterfeit merchandise on eBay, including rare sports memorabilia and rare gold coins and bars, as well as selling counterfeit sports trading cards, authorities said.

Andrew D. Mei is charged with theft by deception, impersonation (identity theft) and computer-related theft, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office said in a news release. He was remanded to the county jail in lieu of $75,000 bail after being arrested Monday.

Mei’s fiancée, Deborah A. Fernandez, was charged with the same crimes and served with a complaint-summons, the release said. Her arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. at the Bergen County Central Municipal Court.

The investigation was conducted by the prosecutor’s office and the Newark Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Services.

In April, the U.S. Postal Inspection Services received information from PayPal and eBay that Mei had been using a false identity to facilitate the sale of the counterfeit merchandise since 2008, the release said. Mei allegedly bought authentic sports trading cards on eBay, replicated them and then sold the counterfeits on the website. He conducted the transactions in his own name as well as variations of it, the release said.

In 2012, eBay uncovered Mei’s activities and shut down his accounts, but in 2013, he allegedly started new eBay and PayPal accounts using an identity stolen from a California victim and continued the fraudulent transactions.

Professional Sports Authenticator told authorities the items Mei sold to victims were counterfeit, the release said. Fernandez’s bank accounts and credit cards allegedly facilitated the transactions.